


Home is Where the Heart Is ( Amethyst/Reader )

by stonedrodent



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Reader-Insert, mostly with you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-24 02:22:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7489578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonedrodent/pseuds/stonedrodent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are a human who just moved to Beach City with your parents. You didn't think you'd like it here, considering you move all too often. But strange things happen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey, sorry the beginning of this is a bit stale. i started writing this on my phone and posting it to wattpad for fun, then idk i got into it haha. i hope its alright!

The smell of barbecue filled your nose as you slowly wake from your uncomfortable sleep. You sit up and stretch hard, yawning and scratching your back. You look over the front seats and notice your mother and father are no longer occupying them. Opening the side door, you step out of the car and look around. You were in an unfamiliar neighborhood, though a pretty one, in the driveway of a spacious looking house. It looked freshly painted and re-roofed, ready for a new family to move in. The moving truck in front also implied someone just moved in. You sigh, admiring the nice structure of your new home. You were not happy about the move. You had begged and cried for your parents not to do it, to stay where you were, but they were headstrong. You had to leave your friends and family behind, and start a new life in a strange new town with new people. You were not looking forward to it. The truth is, you could have stayed home and paid rent there, but you had lost your only job and were too depressed to get a new one.

Your father steps out of the moving truck, his arms stacked with boxes. Next to him were paid movers, also holding boxes. One of them had your name on it in permanent marker.

"Oh, (y/n)! You're awake!"  
"Hey..." you slowly say. You were a bit disgruntled from the nap.   
"Why don't you explore the town a bit? Just remember where this house is!"

You didn't really wanna walk around an unfamiliar town. Just as your father was saying that, someone across the street opened the door to the apartment they were in and started walking towards their car. She looked tired. Her blonde hair was a bit of a mess and her shirt was on inside-out.

"Hey!" You call, but instantly regret saying anything. You didn't like people much.   
She whipped her head in your direction, and that's when she realized there were people moving in. A smile slowly spread across her face and she began crossing the street.

"Hey," she said. "You must be my new neighbor. I'm Sadie."  
You smile politely at her.   
"Hi, I'm (y/n). It's nice to meet you."

You rub your arm nervously, blinking at her. She notices your tenseness.  
"Something wrong?"  
"Your shirt," you finally manage to spit out.  
You don't know why you were being so...awkward. You aren't normally this antisocial, for the most part.

She looked down for a moment before realization struck her face. "Oh!"

It took a moment to fix before she smiled sheepishly at you, her cheeks slightly tinted.

"Thanks a bunch. It was really nice meeting you! But I really have to get to work now. Maybe afterwards if you're around I'll show you around?"  
"Sure," you said shyly, rubbing your arm. The people here seemed pretty nice so far. 

She got into her car and drove off, waving to you on her way out. You sigh and look around at the neighborhood. You had an entire day ahead of you, and you didn't want to waste it on unpacking things.   
"Good to see you've already made a friend," your mom says as she steps out of the house. You blush a bit and rub the back of your head.   
"I suppose so..."  
"Why don't you take a walk around the neighborhood and get acquainted with it? Getting some fresh air helps with stress, you know," your mother says.   
"Alright," you respond and set off down the street, making a mental note of where your new home is. Home. You didn't like calling it that. In fact, do you even have a home? They say home is where the heart is, but you've traveled from one place to another so often that you don't know where to call home.

This place probably won't be home for long.

You manage to find yourself downtown of Beach City.

The time between your house and getting here is fuzzy. You had tuned out, admittedly.

The sight of all the food joints made your stomach growl. You checked your pockets; one dollar and twenty five cents.   
Looking around, you searched for a fast food joint. The cheapest you could find was over two dollars, though...

Ouch! Something lands on your head and you scramble to get it off. A purple squirrel lands on the ground with a thud and scurries around the corner.

Dumb squirrels...wait, purple?

There were purple squirrels here? Weird...but you decide not to question it. Questioning things have gotten you into bad situations, before.

You take a step forward only to step on something. Looking down, you notice an extra few dollars and quarters at your feet. That...wasn't there before.   
Looking around wearily, hoping nobody judges you, you pocket the money and head for the nearest appetizing place.   
A French fry joint was just down the street. The smell of frying oil hits your nose and you're drawn to it.

Frybo's. It'll have to do.

"Oh, uh, hello," a boy with a nasally voice says as you approach him.

"Hi!" You respond, a bit more chipper than you intended to sound.

"What do you have for...uh...three dollars and seventy five cents?" You say as you count out the money.

"Well, you could get a large fry and a drink or you could get--"  
"That," you interrupt him. "I'll take that."  
You were so hungry, honestly, you didn't care what you ate.

He comes back with your food and you thank him and hand him the money.   
Before you go, you look at his hair.   
"I really like your hair," you say.  
He blushes and stutters out a thank you.

Walking down the street and munching on your fries, you look at the sun and realize it's getting late. The purples and blues stretched far in the distance, threatening to spill out over the reds and oranges.

Turning around, you realize something devastating. You have no clue where you were or where you came from.   
Fumbling for your phone, you remember you left it in the car and groan.

You needed to find a phone, fast.

You opened the nearest store to you; the Big Donut. You were so nervous to get to a phone that you didn't notice the girl from across the street.

"Do you have a phone?" You ask, your eyes on the cute boy with a shaved head.   
"Oh, hey, (Y/N)! Decide to do some exploring yourself?" Sadie says.   
You snap your head in her direction and realize who it was.   
"Oh! Hey, Sadie! Do you have a phone I could use? I kinda got lost and need to call my parents..."

Sadie laughed, her puffy blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders.   
"Don't worry about worrying them. I'll drive you home, my shift ends in thirty minutes, anyways."  
"Oh..." You blush, unsure of how to react. You were terrible at accepting kindness from others, but good at giving it.   
"Thank you, Sadie. That's...very sweet of you."  
"It's no problem at all," Sadie says with a sincere smile. "Just hang out till I get off, okay?"

You nod and lean against the counter, letting out a small sigh of relief.

"Uh...hey. New here, huh?" the cute boy asks.

You blush a bit, looking away.   
"Yeah. Just got here a few hours ago, and I'm already lost. Heh."  
"Nice," the boy says with a smirk.   
Sadie lightly punches his arm.   
"Lars!"  
"Ow! Sadie, that hurt..."  
Sadie's gaze softened.   
"Oh, Lars...I barely touched you."  
"It still hurt," Lars said.

That boy needs to toughen up. You chuckle a bit at his sensitivity. He glares at you.

Soon, you're all talking and having a nice time. Some customers come and go, but otherwise it was quiet besides the three of you laughing. Thirty minutes pass in no time and you find yourself in the passenger seat of Sadie's car, the window down so you could feel the cool night air. It's a bit quiet, but a pleasant silence.

You turn your head to the night sky, watching the stars. An owl flew overhead, and if the light of the moon wasn't tricking you, you could've sworn it was purple.

The next few days were hard for you. It was filled with unpacking boxes, setting up electronic systems and getting wifi and cable, cleaning the dusty house, exploring the town, and for you, looking at colleges. They didn't have much to offer besides the community one and the university just outside of town.

You were in your room, reading an old magazine as music blasted from your stereo. There wasn't much to do in this town unless you liked arcade games, and there was a carnival at the edge of town, but it's the only thing you really looked forward going to. Your parents promised to take you next weekend.

At least you finally got what you always wished for; to live by the sea.   
You loved the ocean and everything inside it. Some people say it's a dark abyss filled with horrors unimagined; but you thought it was an oasis of mystery still untouched.   
As a kid, you begged your parents to take you to the Museum of Aquatic Life. When they finally did, you were awestruck. Enamored instantly with everything. Right then and there you had decided what you wanted to be.   
Your dream was go to school to become a marine biologist. It would be a long road to travel, but you had to walk down it. Your childhood was filled with books on aquatic life. You'd stay up late just trying to cram as much information in your head as possible.   
That was a long time ago, though.   
Since then you've calmed down on the excitement, but the passion remains.

Thinking about this, it gives you a new kind of fuel. You set off to find the beach in Beach City.

"(Y/N)," your mother yells from down the hall, as you are just inches from the door.   
"Could you get the laundry from downstairs?"

Groan. You were so close.   
"Sure," you yell back and head for the stairs.

You make your way downstairs quickly and immediately turn the lights on. The darkness always freaked you out a bit. Heading for the washing machine in the back of the room, you feel a slight creaking underneath your shoes.

Inspecting it, you find a loose floorboard. You pull it out of the floor and you're...not quite sure what you're looking at.  
A deep pulsing, dark red and purple fleshy substance leaked from underneath. You immediately look away in disgust. What the fuck was THAT?

"(Y/N)?" your mother calls.

"C-coming, Mom!" You yell, your voice cracking a bit. You shove the board back into place and step over it, getting to the dryer and pulling all the clothes into the hamper, avoiding it as much as possible. You rush up the stairs and push the basket into your mothers room and head towards the door.

"I'm going out, Mom!"

"Alright honey. Don't forget your key!"

You grab the key on your way out.

You do NOT want to know what that was. When weird things happen, you just ignore them. It seems to work for everyone else, so it will for you. For the most part.

*

You're walking along the boardwalk and stop to get some fries. You shove a few in your mouth as you walk down the pier, watching the beach and the people on it as you strolled along, enjoying your fries. 

Sitting on a bench, you enjoy the subtle breeze as you eat. A pigeon flaps onto the ground nearby and stares at you expectantly.

"No way," you say, waving your hand at it. It just flitters back some, watching you contentedly.

"Fine," you say and throw some of the bits of fry at the bottom at it. It begins to eat happily, and that's when you notice the strange color. But you've seen an animal before in this town of the same color, so you weren't too worried...at least, until it said something.

"Thanks, chick!" The pigeon exclaims, flashing a beaky smile at you.   
You almost drop your bag, staring at the bird. Did it just...um.

The bird began to laugh uncontrollably, falling on its back. It glowed before forming into something else...a girl.

She was short and thick, with long lilac hair. Her skin was purple, and there was a circular gem right in the center of her chest.   
She sat up, her giggles dying down. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face, which just fell back to where it was before.

"Oh man, you are so dumb," the girl said, giggling again. Her voice was scratchy and playful; but you felt offended.

"Hey!" You instinctively yell. You weren't too sure WHY you were classified as dumb, and you just realized that probably made you dumb.

"Sorry, I just saw you moved in recently and figured I'd mess with ya as a welcoming gift."

"What a great gift," you grumble.

She erupted into laughter once again.

"Um...why is your skin like that?" you ask, albeit very rudely.

"Uh, because I'm a Crystal Gem," the girl said, as if it were obvious, standing up and dusting off her holy leggings.

"A Crystal-What?" you ask, dumbfounded.

"This is stupid," the girl said.   
"What's your name?"

"Um... I'm (Y/N)," you say.   
"And you are...?"

"Amethyst," she says.  
Well...that makes sense.

"So...'Amethyst'," you say.   
"What's a Crystal Gem?"

"Uh, well, by your standards, I'm an alien. That question is more for Pearl," Amethyst commented in agitation.

"Who's Pearl?" You ask.

"Another Crystal Gem," Amethyst said.

"Why are you telling me all of this, anyway?" you ask, putting a hand on your hip.

"Um..." Amethyst looked away, towards the mountain in the distance.   
"I dunno. You're cool, I guess."

"You just met me," you say. How could she think you're cool when she knows nothing about you?

"So?" she crossed her arms. "I have a cool meter."

You roll your eyes, but giggle anyway.

"So Amethyst, do you turn into animals to harass people regularly or is this new?"

You walk along the boardwalk with this strange girl. She told you a little about these 'Crystal Gems', how they weren't from here, but from another planet. How they each had different powers and weapons based on their gems. She said there's way more to them than that but it was complicated. As you both neared the large cliff at the end of town, you stopped and looked at the girl.

She glanced at you weirdly. "What?"

"Why are you telling me all of this?" You ask, staring at her hard.

"What do you mean? I think you're cool." she said nonchalantly,kicking a rock.

"But...you literally just met me, like, a few minutes ago. Why would you...?"

You stopped in your tracks. The background of Beach city was dripping before you, melting like wax. Amethyst grinned at you.

"Stay away from the basement," she hissed, blinking. Slits replaced her pupils just as your vision fades.


	2. Chapter 2

You find yourself in your room.

"(Y/N)!" your mom calls from down the hall.

Stretching and yawning loudly, you slowly make your way to the kitchen. Your mother is folding laundry.

"Take these to your room. You need to start working on your boxes, honey."

You nod and take your folded clothes silently, not bothering to argue with Mom. Putting them in your empty wardrobe, you pull out a tank top and jean shorts and set them on your bed along with clean underwear and head for the shower.

Thoughts of the dream come slithering back in your mind while you bathe and make you think about what the weird girl from your dream said. You couldn't for the life of you remember what she looked like or her name, but for some reason you remember quite clearly a dark voice hissing, 'stay away from the basement.'

And the heart. The red, pulsing, fleshy heart in your basement.

 

You're probably never going downstairs,ever.

 

After your shower you get dressed and grab your tote bag, heading out the door after saying bye. Sadie'scar is gone, but there's a woman out on the front yard watering plants. She looked exactly like Sadie, but older and taller. She had a brace on one of her legs.

You figure its her mom before heading down the street. Luckily, you don't get stopped for a chat.

It isn't long before you make it to town and take a deep breathe of the salty air around you. Fried food linger in your nostrils as well, prompting you towards the boardwalk.Business boomed there, people of all types were making their way along as they shopped. You don't see Sadie or Lars, the only people you've met so far.

As you pass Frybo's, the first fast food joint you ate from here, you notice a small boy with an older girl.They were pounding on the front desk and chanting 'The bits!" over and over while the older man looked nervous.

Eventually he gives up and hands them a bag. The bottom half of it is darkened in color and dripping with grease. You almost wretch as the boy sticks his hand in and shoves a handful of fry bits into his mouth.

The girl beside him takes a large amount and eats it as well. She strikes you as odd; what with the purple skin and all. Why does she seem so familiar?

You shake it off and approach the Frybo station.

"Hi," you say, waving shyly. "One large fry and a rootbeer, please."

The two seem to go silent as you pay and take your food. You walk past them, avoiding eye contact because holy bajeebus they were sending some vibes. You could tell they were staring.

You sit at the bench and sigh, biting a couple fries.

While you're eating, a pigeon flies down in front of you. You get a weird sense of deja vu as the purple bird cocks its head at you. You toss a fry at it.

The bird catches it in its wing. Wait,what?

It begins to do a little jig, all while beakily smiling at you. Somehow. It holds the fry like a cane as it dances and the same boy from before bursts out laughing nearby.

Your gaze shifts from the pigeon to the boy anxiously. What the hell was going on?

"Whats wrong? Cat got your tongue?"the bird speaks. It speaks to you, then glows a bright purple and it's a cat now.

The cat jumps up on your lap and smiles at you. All the while the boy a few feet off is losing his mind,pounding at the ground in hysterics. You shake your head, but she was still there.

You stand up and she falls onto her back. You would've felt bad if you weren't experiencing tremendous anxiety right now. You run down the boardwalk, weaving past confused people.

You near the beach. There's a cliff nearby, maybe if you hid out past there they would lose you.

As you round the ridged stone, your eyes widen as you see the giant woman come into view. A large stone woman was carved into the face of the cliff, and just below it was a house. You would have never known that this place existed if you never came back here. You stop, staring up at the woman in fear.Where had you seen her before? You scoured your mind for answers, but nothing came up.

You hear panting from behind you as thetwo from earlier finally catch up.

"Hey!" the boy gasped, leaning onto his knees. "Why'd you-- run off-- like that?"

"Yeah, we were only playin'," thegirl said, patting you rather hard on the back. You almost fell over.

"What is this?" you ask, rather than answer, pointing up at the woman.

Amethyst looked up at the house,digging her pinkie into her nose.  
"Uhh...that's our house,dude."

You shook your head, looking at her skeptically. You were about to ask a million questions when you remember the moment from earlier and begin to fume a bit.

"Hey! What's your problem?" you growl, turning towards her.

You lock eyes with her for real for thefirst time, and it hits you. Amethyst. She was in your dream, she called herself a...a Crystal Gem.

She blinked at you. "Huh?"

"Howcome you were picking on me back on the boardwalk? You and your brother or whatever!"

"We weren't picking on you!" the boy interjected, but you had your sights on the girl. She was an influence to the boy and she was making it seem like harassing peoplewas okay!

"Woah, chill out lady. We were justhaving a bit of fun," she said, but you weren't done.

"Then how come I keep seeing you every time I go out?! Huh? Answer that!" you stepped closer, almostthreateningly towering over the much shorter girl.

She maintained a relatively calm faceabout it, though. "I don't know what you're--"

"Oh, don't give me that! I keep seeing you as an owl, or a squirrel, or a pigeon following me! Why?"

The girl's gaze shifted from you to theboy frantically as she looked for an answer. "O-okay, okay! You got me! I was following you, but only because--"

"And don't show up in my dreams againwith your weird sleep magic, alright? It's creepy!"

Amethyst stopped in her tracks,scrunching her face at you in shock, the corner of her lip twitching.

"You had a dream about me?"

and then it was clear. This time she wasn't lying, she had no clue what you were talking about.

You can feel your entire face go red and you wave your hands. You look at Amethyst, who looked perpetually creeped out, and the boy was just watching with curious eyes.

"Dream! No! That is to say I-- Did YOU dream? About me?" you say exasperatedly, growing tense, but sigh, giving up. "Yeah...yeah, I had a dream about you."

"I guess I can't be too creeped out,I did kinda stalk you when you moved in," she tried to joke,playfully hitting your arm, but you didn't find it funny.

"What's going on here?" you finally say, completely and utterly confused.

Amethyst sighs. "Maybe you should come in, dude."

The three of you make your way up the hill that leads to the house. The stone woman is massive, and shields your vision from the sun as you get closer. By the time you make it to the top, your lungs are on fire, and your legs are screaming at you, and you let your muscles give up on life itself as you flop ontoyour butt.

The two who accompanied you didn't even break a sweat from that. You really gotta get in shape.

The interior was pretty open; the kitchen and living room connecting without much wall to separate each other, and a set of uncovered stairs leading up to what seemed like aloft. There was a bed and TV set, along with posters, toys, and glow-in-the-dark stars; so you're going to assume it's the boys room for now.

Sitting on the white couch, you look over at Amethyst, who flops onto it with little grace. The boy climbs up on the other side of you to sit and listen.

"Okay. This is gonna sound a little weird, but I've been following you because of...your house."Amethyst rubbed the back of her head, looking away.

"What about my house?" you ask.

"The backyard has a treehouse that I used to hang out in a lot, and I guess I was mad that a family moved in. But then I saw you and figured a girl as cute as you deserved that treehouse." Amethyst gave you a sideways smirk, and you squint at her.

She loses her smile upon seeing your face, and groans.

"I was planning on pranking you,okay? Don't give me that look!" she crossed her arms.

"Mmhmm," you hum, rolling your eyes.

"Well, I'm not gonna do it anymore,if that makes you feel better," Amethyst says, putting her hands over her head and stretching.

"It doesn't matter. You'll probably get it back, soon, okay?" you say and smile at her, before standing up.

"What? Why would you say--" she started, but was cut off.

"Hey! Where are you goin'?" the boy asked, jumping up as well.

"Back, uh, home I guess. I got an explanation, that's all I needed."

You head for the front door, and hear the boy begin to call for you, but stop short. Amethyst probably stopped him, or he changed his mind. It's not important, right? You're not important.

Just as you open the door, you walk straight into something...large. And red.

You back up in a panic as two more women walk into the house. They were both taller than you; but one was much bigger than the rest. She had to be, like, 6 or more feet!She definitely held a very intimidating demeanor.  
The other was very petite and held a refined posture as she looked at you with confused shock. She had a large white gem right on the middle of her forehead.

Now that you think about it, all of them had gems. Did the little boy, too? Or was he being held captive by these weird rock people?

"Oh...We, uh, weren't expecting guests. Steven, is this your friend?" the thin one asks, folding her hands together as she gazed at the boy. So, his name is Steven.

"Oh, yeah! She's uh...hey, what's your name?" Steven asked, looking at you.

"I...I'm (Y/N), but, I really should--"

"Amethyst has been following her because of her treehouse and mmfmmfmbbf!" Steven was cut short asAmethyst put her hands over his mouth nervously, smiling at everyone.

"Hahaha, yeah I just uh, love the treehouse in the back of (Y/N)'s house, before her and her family moved in. So I 'bumped' into her on my way there," she tried to save herself, but it was too late.

The white one put a hand to her mouth in shock.

"You were following this girl, Amethyst? Why on Earth would you do that?"

"I told you, I used to go to her treehouse, okay?" Amethyst snapped back at her.

"Fine," the white one said, crossing her arms. She clearly wasn't happy with that answer.

Neither were you.

"My, how rude. My name is Pearl, and this is Garnet--" Pearl motioned to the large red one, who towered over everyone else. "I'm sure you've met Steven and Amethyst."

"Yeah, I have. It's, um...nice to meet you. But I should go," you say, taking a small step towards the door. "I gotta, do...some things..."

"And Amethyst, if you could, please don't come to my house anymore."

You open the door and start down the hill, not looking back. What a bunch of FREAKS.

You lose your footing a bit, and in order to catch yourself, start running; and soon enough you find yourself uncontrollably running down the hill, lest you completely crash. But by the time you make it to the bottom, you fall flat on your face into the sand, anyway.

You can hear Amethyst's obnoxiously loud laugh in the distance. Now you look like a total idiot. Good. Great. You stand up and spit out sand, dusting your clothes of sand, groaning and trying to stretch your leg. It hurt a bit, you might have pulled a muscle.

 

On your way back home, you stop at The Big Donut. Hopefully Sadie was there, and with luck she'd let you vent off some steam.

Thankfully, she was there; sitting lazily behind the counter, looking bored. Lars stood next to her,jamming to some music in his headphones. He was cute, but boy, was he awkward.

"Oh! (Y/N) Your clothes, what happened?" Sadie asks, pulling herself up in concern.

"Long story. Mind if I hang out for a bit?" you ask with a hopeful smile.

 

"Oh, jeez. That sounds rough. But not strange for Steven," she giggles. Wait.

"You know them?" you ask in shock,raising an eyebrow at her.

"Not the gems so much, but Steven is a regular customer here. He really is a sweet kid," she said with a hopeful smile.

"More like annoying," Lars said,and Sadie cast him a glare.

"Lars! Steven's done a lot for you!"she scolded, and Lars just clicked his tongue before looking away.

"I hope that won't stop you from talking to them all. They're all really nice, I promise. Just...a bit weird."

"Well...I trust your judgment, I guess," you say with a tired smile.

Sadie grinned before pulling out a donut, which you stared at immediately.

"Hungry?"

"Yes!" you groan, and take the pastry graciously, eating it in a couple bites. You sigh in relief as the tension in your stomach lets up a bit. "Thank you, I needed that."

Sadie giggles before getting up and grabbing her jacket. "Well, it's almost closing time. Need a ride home?"

You blush, realizing just how long you stayed to chat. You hope you didn't distract her from work or anything...

"I'd appreciate it, thank you so much, Sadie. You've been so nice to me," you say, rubbing your arm sheepishly.

She waves her hand, smiling at you."Don't mention it, (Y/N). It's what friends do."

Friend. She hadn't known you for a week and she considered you her friend. You haven't even done anything for her...you didn't repay her for all the sweet things she's done. You feel so stupid, so selfish. Ever since you got here, the stress has been clouding your vision.

You feel so bad for treating those crystal gem women like that. Amethyst just liked your backyard, and she was there before you moved in. It was unfair of you to be so mean about it. And she was only trying to make Steven laugh...

Boy. You sure feel like an ass.

You sit quietly in Sadie's car on the ride home, thinking about your day. You wanted to apologize to the girls, but who knows if you'd ever come across them again. And it'd be weird to just show up at their house, considering how out-of-the-way it is. Maybe you should just leave it as is. You messed up plenty of times. And when your parents have to move again, you probably won't even leave memories here.


End file.
